Human Rights Watch has urged Chile to stop deporting Venezuelan citizens

Chile urges Venezuela to end brief deportation Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday that “all evictions are carried out within the framework of a migration law to ensure compliance with international human rights law.”

The organization pointed to a series of serious violations such as the fundamental rights of expelled Venezuelan immigrants, phone calls and restrictions on access to lawyers., Brief deportations on weekends (when appellate courts are closed) and family separation.

After examining 21 court rulings and more than 250 deportation orders, the international body has identified “violations of due process, including the right to trial and the presentation of evidence,” before the expulsion is finalized.

“Chilean courts have deported many Venezuelans who tried to escape the catastrophic crisis in their own country, violating the basic standards of international law.”According to the document, Jose Miguel Vivanco, director of HRW in the United States, said.

In the same way, Vivango, the government led by Sebastian Pinara, strongly condemns the abuses in Venezuela, while at the same time ignoring Venezuela’s rights in the hope of deporting him to a country where his life is in danger. . “

Chile is home to an estimated 1.4 million immigrants – equivalent to 7% of the population – to date The Venezuelan community is the largest with a population of 457,000.

The Chilean administration has announced that it will expel 1,500 of the 1521 charter flights throughout 2021, and according to the Jesuit Immigration Service (SJM) it has deported 294 people by April this year, in most cases “without judicial control” and mainly affects Venezuela.

This government policy is part of a law to deport immigrants whose legal cases are so severe that they experience punishment in their own country and enter the country secretly and are in an irregular administrative situation.

“Absence of Two Processes”

According to HRW review, in most cases “(Chile) police are not allowed to oppose the deportation of immigrants before the order is issued.” It thus undermines the rights enshrined in international treaties recognized by the Chilean government, i.e. “presenting evidence to challenge the right and expulsion they are asking for.”

The HRW pointed out that in recent months the Supreme Court has revoked a number of deportation orders, which were considered to be the product of “sufficient administrative controversy practice”, but in almost all cases this revocation was after deportation.

“Interviews conducted by HRW and the resolutions issued in these cases show, in fact, that the Chilean government has lost the opportunity to fully exercise the rights guaranteed to migrants by international law,” the report said.

“Joint Sectors”

According to the HRW, the results did not refer to the individual circumstances of each case, which “did not appear to have been taken into account” and although administrative judgments were handed down to each deported person, “the language used in different cases was practically the same and not analyzed case-wise”.

When analyzing deportations in Chile, the UN in the country Agencies also have the right to evaluate their circumstances individually, including the need for protection and the risks of deportation. For his life, his freedom or his honesty, HRW recalled.

“Dividing Families”

Brief deportations, the document establishes, prevent a large number of Venezuelan citizens from proving family ties in Chile, especially considering that both marital and parental status are not registered in the state of Chile.

This includes the difficulty in obtaining official certificates or documents in Venezuela and abroad because the Caribbean embassy services are “limited”.

HRW, meanwhile, assures human rights lawyers that some of the soon-to-be-expelled members did not mention their family ties to prevent other members from being deported.

“These deportations violate children’s right to family unity. Chile must prioritize the best interests of its children and facilitate their reunion with their parents, ”the charity said.

(With information from EFE)

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